Crossroads at the Buffalo Chip Unveiled

SBC
02/03/2012

2012 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

The Sturgis Buffalo Chip, the legendary Sturgis Motorcycle Rally campground, concert and entertainment venue that has for more than 30 years been a focal point of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, has announced development of a new commercial and entertainment area - Crossroads at the Buffalo Chip.

The Crossroads development at the Buffalo Chip, located three miles outside of Sturgis, S.D., will provide visitors a Free access area at the Sturgis campground where visitors will be able to visit friends and vendors, enjoy food, drinks, and music and find a much-needed relief from the traffic in the town of Sturgis.

Rod Woodruff (Owner of Sturgis Buffalo Chip) says: "There has long been a need for a complete motorcycle rally park with free admission that's easy to get to, provides access to industry displays and vendors and has ample and easily accessed free parking. It's been planned for years and I am delighted that the Crossroads will be open during the 2012 Sturgis Rally."

The Crossroads gives the Sturgis biker rally visitor and general public the opportunity to come to the Chip to look at custom bikes, shop, view new products, get motorcycle mechanic work done, enjoy good food, full bar service, beautiful dancers, live musical entertainment, and just hang out and meet some friends without having to pay an admission fee.

Information for Sturgis rally camping, vending, concert and campground reservations at the Legendary Buffalo Chip is available at buffalochip.com and 605-347-9000.

Source: Ultimatemotorcylcing.com

Signs point to smaller rally crowd

Steve Miller

August 21, 2011

Attendance at the 2011 Sturgis motorcycle rally, which ended Sunday, was down from last year's 70th rally, although probably no more than usual for a year after a big anniversary year, according to rally officials and vendors. The city of Sturgis' Rally Department will release its attendance estimate later this month after it gets vendor sales tax revenue figures from the state Department of Revenue. But some indicTraffic counts into and out of Sturgis by the State Department of Transportation were down nearly 12 percent through Thursday. The DOT will have final rally traffic counts available later this week, said Doug Kinniburgh, a region traffic engineer based in Rapid City, who doubles as the DOT's rally coordinator.ators showed decreases from last year.

Grant Murphey of Sturgis takes down a sign at H.O. Andersons and Son along Main Street in Sturgis on Sunday, August 14, 2011.

But he said the preliminary figure is about on par with the DOT traffic counts from 2009.

Typically, the year before and the year after a major rally anniversary draw smaller crowds, Kinniburgh said.

The DOT has more than 20 electronic traffic counters at routes into and out of Sturgis.

Kinniburgh cautioned that the counters can't determine how many people are in each vehicle or on each motorcycle.

Reservations for campgrounds and hotel and motel rooms booked by Black Hills Central Reservations were down about 6 percent for this year's rally, according to manager Susan Johnson.

Johnson, too, said the five-year anniversary rallies usually draw bigger crowds.

Attendance at last year's rally was estimated at 466,769, up from 442,163 in 2009. The 60th rally in 2000 drew the biggest crowd so far, an estimated 633,000.

The city rally department bases those estimates on five sets of figures: the DOT traffic counts, motorcycle traffic into Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the amount of garbage collected in Sturgis, the number of vendor licenses issued and sales tax revenue from temporary vendors.

The city of Sturgis issued 719 vendor licenses this year, down 5.5 percent from the 761 issued last year. But this year's total still exceeded the 2009 mark of 696 licenses.

The rally crowd seemed smaller this year, said Brenda Vasknetz, who is in her third year as rally director and served for years before that in the city finance and engineering departments.

"It was expected," she said of the smaller crowd. "I think it was a good year, especially with things going on in the economy. The weather was phenomenal. And there was no major drama."

One indicator running about even with last year was the tonnage of garbage collected, said Christina Steele, who handles public relations for the city of Sturgis.

"That kind of surprised me," Steele said. "I would say from being out on the street, looking at parking, it's down a little bit, but still a very strong rally, definitely ahead of 2008 and 2009."

Steele said some vendors reported that even though they've had fewer people walking past their booths, more of them have stopped to talk and buy something.

Vasknetz said vendors she works with on city property reported sales comparable with last year.

"Overall, everyone is happy," Steele said.

At The Knuckle Saloon complex, rally business was "fair, but not excellent," said co-owner Roger Call.

He said sales were about 85 to 90 percent of last year's rally.

But The Knuckle was still busy on Sunday, even as bikers were heading out of town and vendors began packing up. "Right now, our restaurant is packed," Call said about noon. "There's still a lot of people in town."

As late as 5 p.m. Sunday, bikers and locals were checking for bargains at vendor booths in downtown Sturgis, even as vendors began piling unsold T-shirts and other wares into boxes.

Kent Mortimer, who owns Renegade Classics on Main Street, said his rally clothing and souvenir sales figures were running about the same as for the 2009 rally. "We were expecting the rally to be down a little more than it is," Mortimer said. "We're happy with where the rally is."

More bikers seem to arrive early for the rally each year.

But this year, many of them started leaving early, said Mama Bling Bling (aka Tami Harris) at the Hellanbach booth on Main Street on Sunday.

Business was down this year, she said. Harris said she'll be back next year, though. "It's always worth it to come to Sturgis," she said.

Across the street at the American Bikers booth, manager Brandy Howard said neither the crowd nor sales were as good as those at last year's rally. "But it was still pretty good," Howard said.

In any case, the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based company will be back with rally apparel again next year.

"We always come to Sturgis," Howard said. "It would be silly to not come to Sturgis."

Two hospitalized with knife wounds in Sturgis

STURGIS, S.D. - The Sturgis police chief says two people were treated for knife wounds Wednesday night after a confrontation between the Hells Angels and Mongols motorcycle clubs during the annual Sturgis Motorcyle Rally that draws hundreds of thousands of bikers to South Dakota's Black Hills.

Chief Jim Bush told the Associated Press Thursday that two people were taken to a hospital immediately after the incident. He says one was treated and released Wednesday night and the other was released Thursday morning.

The South Dakota attorney general's office says two members of the Hells Angels were arrested. Mark Allen Duclos, 48, was charged with aggravated assault, and George James Caruso, 57, was charged with simple assault.

The attorney general's office could not immediately determine the addresses of the two men arrested.

Source:  http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_18663965?nclick_check=1

Full Throttle Saloon at Sturgis Rally Relies on IQinVision for their Security Surveillance

IQeye HD Megapixel cameras protect millions of dollars while watching over 30,000 patrons

The Full Throttle Saloon in Stugis, SD, Epicenter of Throttle Fest 2011, relies on IQinVision to Protect Millions of Dollars

“Imagine trying to simultaneously keep an eye on 30,000 visitors and 100 bartenders. With IQinVision's Alliance HD megapixel cameras we can digitally pan, tilt, and zoom in so close that we can count each bill placed in the cash register.”

San Juan Capistrano, CA (PRWEB) August 10, 2011

IQinVision (http://www.iqeye.com), market leader in high-performance HD megapixel IP cameras, today announced that for second year in a row, the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, SD is relying on IQinVision HD Megapixel technology to safeguard millions in assets and improve crowd control.

With over 30,000 visitors daily, Michael Ballard's Full Throttle Saloon is once again the epicenter of this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The task of managing the Saloon with over 300 on-site staff, millions of dollars in cash, parking and property, as well as providing critical information to law enforcement becomes increasingly difficult as the 71-year old Sturgis Rally continues to grow in popularity.

This daunting task is made easier with the help of specialized HD megapixel surveillance cameras supplied by IQinVision. Security and surveillance expert Jeff Haase, owner of Spearfish, South Dakota-based Clearwater Security and Investigations, relies on IQinVision megapixel cameras for high definition overviews of staff and customer traffic patterns, cash theft mitigation, and property security. “With the IQeye cameras, frequently we’re able to slice through the massive crowds, better than floor security staff, to isolate problems and track cash as it moves from bar locations to the onsite bank,” noted Hasse.

Haase and his team of surveillance experts have an arsenal of tools more powerful than some Las Vegas Casinos at their fingertips. With IQinVision cameras, Haase can thoroughly monitor the large crowds, identify threats, and isolate them by deploying ground security forces quickly and accurately.

For the 2011 Rally, the Full Throttle Saloon has expanded their state-of-the-art surveillance system by adding new IQeye Sentinel 5 megapixel day/night cameras for extended range and better support in low light situations. The Sentinel series megapixel camera is designed to cover more ground, provide more detail, and better serve the security and surveillance staff during nighttime operations.

Managing the network of cameras would be impossible without the right software. Milestone software is the solution that makes it all possible. “Milestone software connects all of our surveillance cameras together, allowing us to choose what camera view we want to zoom in on,” explained Haase.

Hasse continued, “Imagine trying to simultaneously keep an eye on 30,000 visitors and 100 bartenders. You've got to examine each transaction, follow the cash, and make sure that Mr. Ballard's money goes where it’s supposed to. With IQinVision's Alliance Series HD megapixel indoor and outdoor cameras we're able to digitally pan, tilt, and zoom in so close that we can literally count each bill that is placed in the cash register.”

Obviously, Haase knows that mitigating theft is his number one priority. Over the past eight years, technology has vastly improved, making his job much easier. This year, Haase has added additional IQeye cameras to sensitive areas, like the Full Throttle Saloon Bank, which will allow him and his team to better monitor the cash as it makes its way through thousands of bar patrons, to the teller, and into the vault.

“The new cameras we've deployed this year in the bank will allow us to count each bill, track what the teller is entering into the bank's computer system, and observe the teller place each cash register's net deposit in the vault," said Haase. Over 10 terabytes of crystal clear images are stored, and can be recalled as necessary for law enforcement, internal documentation, or insurance purposes.

And the owner agrees on the effectiveness of video surveillance, “Four out of five businesses go out of business because they get stolen from, and bars are close to the top of the list," noted Ballard. “This system, this level of technology, is worth the investment—it has paid for itself each year.”

Although a secondary priority, managing the massive crowds at the Full Throttle Saloon is another one of Haase's objectives. “With IQinVision’s superior camera images, we're able to detect problems, a lot of times before they even start.” This critical component allows ground security staff to respond faster, and make necessary interventions before problems erupt, leading to a safer, more enjoyable rally experience for all.

“But at the end of the day, it’s all about tracking the cash," reminded Haase. With IQinVision HD megapixel technology he's able to do so and that makes Full Throttle owner Michael Ballard rest easier and enjoy the party.

Source:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/8/prweb8711121.htm

Bikini Team at Sturgis bars pass out sexual performance enhancement drink

source: http://news.avn.com/articles/SINsual-Shot-Fuels-Sturgis-Debauchery-at-Weeklong-Motorcycle-Rally-443950.html